Front Range Community College Blog

Developmental English Classes Prepare Students for College: What You Need to Know about CCR

College Composition and Reading (aka CCR) is Front Range Community College’s pathway to success for developmental readers and writers. Students placed into CCR by their Accuplacer scores must complete (or take at the same time) the CCR requirement before registering for most college-level courses.

Because of this “co-requisite” requirement, it is important to know what these courses are, how to register for them, and how they can help you prepare for excellence in your college experience.

CCR courses are specifically designed to prepare any and all students for college-level reading and writing within one semester. In fact, CCR courses are mainly designed to be taken alongside or immediately before your college-level courses, so you can more easily apply your newfound skills directly within your college-level courses.

So, what are your options?

CCR 092 (College Reading and Composition)

The nutshell: This is a stand-alone, five-credit, integrated reading and writing course with a “student success” theme.

If you want to know what “college-level” reading and writing is like, and you want to develop your skills in a safe and supportive environment, this class provides a unique (but demanding) learning environment where you get the help you need. The assignments center on the information, skills, and characteristics of successful learners, so you learn to become a stronger student while learning to read more challenging texts and write a variety essay types commonly required in college. If that sounds challenging, you’re right! But imbedded tutors and thoughtful, committed Instructors provide plenty of one-on-one support, so you get all the feedback, encouragement, and individualized assistance you need to succeed in transfer-level courses.

This course can be taken as a stand-alone course, and if passed with a grade of C or higher, meets all your developmental requirements for English.

CCR 093 (Studio D)

The nutshell: This is a three-credit, integrated reading and writing course that links content with college-level discipline courses. CCR 093 is a “co-requisite” course, meaning it must be taken at the same time as the college-level discipline course it is linked with.

A common question about this course is, “What does the ‘D’ stand for ?” It refers to the discipline course that must be taken alongside the CCR 093 course. This option allows students to work toward completing transferable college credits while still meeting their developmental education requirements. It also provides the added benefit of linking the reading and writing assignments from the college-level discipline course with the reading and writing assignments in CCR 093. On the Larimer Campus, for example, students can take CCR 093 linked with Psychology 101, and the readings and writings in the CCR 093 dovetail with and complement the readings and writing assignments from Psychology 101. (The Westminster and Boulder County campuses pair any college-level discipline course with CCR 093.) This particular CCR course provides immediate assistance and instruction in credit-bearing, discipline-specific classes, so if you have concerns about college-level reading and writing assignments in your GT transfer courses, the CCR 093 might be the ideal choice for you.

CCR 094 (Studio 121)

The nutshell: This is a three-credit, integrated reading and writing course that links content with College Composition (ENG 121). CCR 094 is a co-requisite with ENG 121, meaning that to take CCR 094 you must also take ENG 121.

This class is ideal for students who want to finish their developmental requirements and their ENG 121 requirement at the same time, or for students who may feel daunted by the idea of taking a college-level English class and want extra instruction, support, and encouragement. The main benefit of Studio 121 is that you accelerate directly into college-level English, but you also get an additional class session immediately after your ENG 121 session during which a smaller group of students can review, go deeper, and ask questions of the Instructor about their ENG 121 essays, readings, or other assignments. If you enjoy smaller, more personalized classes with additional one-on-one support from your Instructor, the Studio 121 option might be your best bet.

How to decide?

First of all, have you talked to the Advising Office? Advisors are your best resource for making informed decisions. But, in the meantime, here are a few recommendations.

Follow your Accuplacer score. If you tested into CCR 092, take that course. If you tested into CCR 093 or CCR 094, then take one of those. Each course is carefully designed for students with a particular score range. You can always take a course below your Accuplacer placement, but you can’t take one above.

Know your path to graduation. Is ENG 121 required for you to graduate? (Again, ask Advising to be sure.)

o If you do not need ENG 121, then CCR 093 makes the most sense. You can meet both your developmental requirement and one general education requirement at the same time.

o If you need ENG 121 and ENG 122 to graduate, you may be best off taking CCR 094, since that will help you advance most quickly towards completing your English requirements.

o If you aren’t sure, don’t know your major, or may change your major, then take whatever sounds like the most fun! (And, while you’re at it, schedule an appointment with Advising. They have great advice, pun intended, about picking a major and creating a path toward your academic and professional goals.)

Seek Advice. Seriously, talk to Advising! One of the biggest barriers preventing students from achieving their academic and professional goals is that far, far too many students take unnecessary classes. Advising can help you decide which classes you need, which you don’t, and when those classes should be taken.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Hussey is an English instructor at FRCC. He has taught in two different Learning Community classes, one that paired English with History and now one that pairs English with Philosophy. Mark moved to Fort Collins in 2005 to work on his master's in English at Colorado State University and to be closer to the Rocky Mountains.